Kutztown University wrestling team comes up short in home opener

Bonus points were the key in 18th-ranked Kutztown University's 24-17 home-opening loss to No. 11 University of Pitt-Johnstown this afternoon at Keystone Arena.

"It's a tough loss," Kutztown head coach Robert Fisher said. "We have never beaten them and every year we get closer. A few matches went the wrong way and we gave up some bonus points which really hurt us."

Though Kutztown was trailing 18-11, the Bears were still within striking distance of the match victory going into the bout at 184. However, Pitt-Johnstown locked up the win as All-American Travis McKillop pinned Kutztown's Giovonni Ortiz in 5:31.

The Bears were put in an early hole after giving up a fall at 125, but freshman Austin Ormsbee of Blair Academy helped them fight back with a major decision over Benny Rager at 133. Ormsbee jumped out to an early lead and rode Rager for the remainder of the first period to collect 1:42 of riding time.

In the second period, he began to put on the pressure after gaining a reversal and added back points from a cradle on the edge of the mat. In the third period, Ormsbee stayed relentless on his feet, collecting another takedown and riding tough for a 12-1 major decision.

But the excitement was short-lived for Kutztown when Northwestern graduate Evan Yenolevich was pinned in 2:09 of the first period. Yenolevich took the lead on a takedown but was reversed and thrown to his back by Dave Cawley as the Mountain Cats extended their lead.

Mitch Voelker fought hard at 149 pounds but came up on the short end of an 8-4 decision before Kutztown received shutout victories from Matt Martoccio (5-0) and Bionojel Candelaria (9-0) at 157 and 165, respectively.

Martoccio put in a workman-like effort against Joel Paolo. He came out on top after a short scramble to get the first period takedown and never gave up control from there gaining a second takedown in the third period and accumulating over two minutes of riding time.

PJ's Brian Gibbons responded with a 3-0 victory over Ricky Pena at 174 before McKillop's fall over Ortiz sealed the win for the Mountain Cats. Kutztown finished strong with wins at 197 from Vinny Campanile and former Bethlehem Catholic Golden HawkZiad Haddad at 285.

"Every day, more and more comes back to me," said Haddad who spent three years away from competition and coached at Freedom High School. "My timing is getting better along with my endurance."

Haddad didn't waste any time once he stepped on the mat against Josh Duplin. After just 10 seconds he was ahead 2-0 and finished the first period with 2:50 seconds of riding time. He managed to escape and grab another takedown before Duplin erased the zero from his side of the scoreboard. But Duplin's efforts weren't enough against the mat savvy Haddad who racked up a 10-3 regular decision victory to extend his win streak to six.

"It's still early in the season," said Haddad about his success. "After coaching, I have a whole new outlook when I'm on the mat. I see things differently since I was an outsider for awhile and now that I'm back competing, it just makes me realize a lot more things on the mat.